Mealtime makeovers: Add pizzazz to your children's familiar favorites

Monday

Dec 13, 2010 at 12:01 AMDec 13, 2010 at 12:17 PM

Some comfort food recipes your kids will love.

Margaret Maples

Grilled cheese sandwich

This reliable comfort dish has received a makeover on restaurant menus, so why not at your house? The basic meal is built on regular white bread, which can be boring but has lots of tasty cousins. For this improved version, try some of them. Challah, a golden braid, has a sweet flavor that’s famed far beyond its Jewish tradition. Have the bakery slice it for you.

Another delicious white bread, domestic Italian, can be transformed into interesting shapes with a cookie cutter. For small sandwiches, slice a French-style demi baguette into 2-inch rounds, or use mild party rye.

And now for the cheese. Good old American is fairly standard, but for this upgrade we used Cheddar and Jarlsberg. You might also try Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, or Asiago —­ there are loads of very grown-up choices. With the cheese, add thin slices of ripe tomato. As a finishing touch after grilling, decorate your sandwiches with small blossoms made from cherry tomatoes and basil chiffonade.

1. From the Italian slices, you can use cookie cutters to create butterflies, flowers and other interesting shapes. No need to tweak the challah. The slices make a charming, irregular-shaped sandwich. The baguette will make small oval sandwiches; the party rye, squares or, with a cookie cutter, small rounds. Try to make the cheese slices match the bread so warm cheese won’t ooze and burn while grilling.

2. Set a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. While the skillet warms, assemble the sandwiches with cheese and thin slices of tomato. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the hot skillet. Brown the sandwiches on both sides.

3. Tomato blossoms: Cut a cherry tomato in half. Push a decorative party pick through the tomato’s cut end, letting about an inch of toothpick emerge through the bottom. Anchor this bottom stem in the sandwich. Surround with a bit of basil chiffonade. Serve warm.

Spaghetti and meatballs

First, try angel hair instead of the usual spaghetti. And go for more color. Noodles aren’t always white, of course, but whole-wheat brown, spinach-flavored green and tomato-flavored orange left us cold. By adding a little food coloring, you’ll achieve red, purple and blue pasta. And you’ll start racking up points with your young diners.

Don’t stop now. Pasta comes in dozens of shapes, so pick a second or third to use as accents. We found snowflakes and snowmen, perfect for winter. You might choose conchiglie (conch shells), farfalle (butterfly or bow shapes), fusilli (little corkscrews), rotelle (small spoked wheels) —­ the list goes on. You’ll need to cook and dye only two or three accent pieces per serving.

Set the vividly colored pasta on a platter, with your children’s favorite sauce and meatballs nearby, and let the youngsters arrange their own plates. As another jazzy accent, grate some Parmesan cheese and let the kids help themselves.

1. Prepare pasta — angel hair and a few other shapes — according to the package directions. Calculate the amount according to the number of diners and noodle colors involved.

2. Divide cooked pasta among different containers, with enough water to cover. Add drops of food coloring to each container, leaving one plain for white noodles. Swirl the containers to spread the color evenly. Let the noodles soak in the tinted water for about 45 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.

3. Dye pieces of the “accent” pasta following the same procedure you started with the angel hair. You’ll need two or three accent pieces for each child’s meal. Arrange the pasta on a platter. Let your children serve themselves with noodles, sauce and meatballs.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.